Not Another Reaper!
by CatChild1
Summary: A minister is healing people. Sam and Dean go to find out if another reaper is being used.
1. Not Another Reaper?

_**Typical Disclaimer:** This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you to everyone and I hope you enjoy it._

_This chapter is short only because it's a teaser to see who is interested :-)_

---

**Not Another Reaper!**

Dean woke to find Sammy already up and on the computer. "What's wrong Sammy?"

"Nothin'."

"Liar."

Sam sighed. Looking over at Dean, he gave his big brother a small smile, "I had a dream. I'm just trying to check it out."

Dean nodded and headed for the bathroom, "so what was it about?"

Sam raised his voice slightly so Dean would be able to hear him through the closed door, "a minister in North Carolina is healing people."

Sam could hear Dean let out a few choice curses before coming out of the bathroom to wash his hands. Looking over his shoulder at Sam, Dean scowled, "it's not another reaper is it?"

Sam shrugged, "I don't know. Apparently there have only been a handful of cases where he's healed someone and I can't find any corresponding deaths to suggest it."

"Well maybe he's just a fraud and there's nothing supernatural going on at all?" Dean offered.

Sam sighed, "that would be great to believe, but why would I have a dream about him?"

Dean paused drying his hands and studied Sam for a moment. His baby brother looked tired as well as worried. "You're right Sammy, we'll go check it out."

---

"Ok Sammy, tell me what you saw," Dean asked as they sped down the highway.

"Well, this priest was healing someone in his church. He laid his hands on her head and she had some convulsions before standing up from her wheelchair." Sam's voice was hesitant and Dean knew he was hiding something.

Dean tried to lighten his mood a little, "was she hot?"

Sam just rolled his eyes. Then smirked at his brother, "actually Dean, she probably is someone you'd go after."

Dean frowned, "what are you not telling me? Does she have a third eye or extra fingers or something? You've got that look on your face, what are you up to?"

Sam just smiled, "You really want to know?"

"Dude! I wouldn't have asked if I didn't."

Sam smiled again, "it was Layla."

The car almost swerved off into the guard rail. Dean sat up straight and got the car back on the road before glancing over at Sam, "you sure?"

"Positive."

Dean accelerated quickly, keeping his eyes on the road this time, "her mom was pretty desperate to find someone to heal her. Do you think she would do something like Susanna?"

Sam shrugged, "hard to say. Desperate will people will sometimes do anything to save the people they love."


	2. Strange Young Woman

_**Typical Disclaimer:** This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you to everyone and I hope you enjoy it._

---

They arrived in Mars Hill, North Carolina and began looking for a motel. They ended up having to pick on the outskirts of town because anything close to the church was completely booked.

They both went to the library to start their initial research of local events and past healings that had been contributed to the minister, Paul Hastings. They found the names of several witnesses that were supposedly healed and a few clippings claiming he was scamming people or even a Satanist.

Dean had done some checking and looked for Layla, but she didn't appear to be in the town anymore. Dean seemed to pout a little until the spunky little waitress in the diner got his attention.

---

They sat near the back of the church listening to Minister Hastings preach to the congregation, which didn't seem overly large, but most of the pews were filled with people. The church was hushed as everyone listened intently to his words, but there was nothing about healing people discussed. He was supposed to be in his early 70's but the man didn't look it. He was in good shape and had a strong voice that could be heard by even the back people in a completely packed church.

Sam noted a young lady, probably in her early twenties like him, sitting in the last pew on the other side of the church from where he and Dean were sitting. She wasn't drop-down gorgeous, but she was definitely pretty. She was watching the minister intently with a calm smile on her face. She glanced in Sam's direction and noticed him staring at her. Her brows furrowed and a slightly confused look appeared on her face. She smiled lightly at him, almost appearing to blush, before she lowered her gaze and returned it to the minister.

As the service ended, Sam and Dean hesitated to get up and discussed the possibilities as everyone left the church. Sam glanced over to where he'd seen the girl, but she was gone.

Once the church was empty except for a handful of people near the front speaking with the minister, the brothers joined the group and listened to the questions. Most were asking about healing and blessings and requesting the minister help them. The minister was an older gentleman and he was explaining to them that he didn't do the healing, that God did. Sam and Dean looked at each other giving knowing glances and remembering the exact words coming from Reverend Le Grange's mouth. When asked if he would heal the people around him then, he said he could not because he always got a certain feeling when it was time to heal someone. He couldn't explain it and many people were frowning as they left the church. A skeptic spat a few insults in the minister's direction about not getting the proper offerings in the plate, and Sam had to smirk in Dean's direction at yet another memory.

A couple of older ladies tried to comfort the minister before they left, saying they had faith and they understood. Paul looked tired and his head hung slightly as he smiled at them and bit them good day.

Sam and Dean moved up to speak with him once everyone else had finally left.

"Mr. Hastings," Dean began as they stepped up and Paul turned around, "we're with the Burnsville Tribune and wondered if we might have a moment of your time."

Paul sighed, "I suppose, unless you're intending to make me look like some con-man milking people out of their money like the last reporter that came by."

Sam shifted nervously as he was sure Dean was going to make a snide remark back; instead Dean shook his head, "no sir, we're actually very interested. We've talked with a couple of people who say that you healed them. We'd like to write a small article about it. I promise it wont be anything slanderous."

Paul relaxed a little bit, "well, how 'bout we go back into my office and chat in private while the boys clean up a little out here," he indicated two young boys that were sweeping. "They're volunteers, Boy Scouts, working on a badge," Paul smiled lightly as he lead them to a door near the back of the church, "it's good to see young people doing good things instead of hanging out on street corners or vandalizing buildings."

As they neared the door, movement caught Sam's eye and he glanced back near the podium. The girl he'd seen before was sitting in one of the chairs off to the site. "Uhh, excuse me a moment, I'll catch up in a second," Sam smiled and turned as Dean gave him a strange frown. Paul just shrugged, "the office is the second door on the left down this hall." Sam nodded and walked back towards the girl, Dean just frowned and continued to follow Paul to the office.

Sam walked up to the girl, "hi."

"Hello there." Her smile was bright and her dark blue, almost gray, eyes sparkled up at him.

He sat down next to her, "I saw you sitting in the back of the church earlier."

She blushed lightly, "yeah, I saw you."

"Umm … so … do you come to this church regularly?" Sam asked casually.

"Oh yes, I'm here all the time. I help Paul every now and again." She turned in her chair so that she was facing Sam more and he shifted slightly so that he was doing the same.

Her smile was warm, "so did you come here for healing or just curiosity?"

"Huh?" Sam was slightly taken aback.

Her smile broadened and her eyes sparkled with laughter, "you're not from around here or at least not from this church. Like I said, I'm here all the time. So you're either here because you believe he can heal you or your friend, or you're curious to see him heal someone else."

Sam couldn't help but smile back, and the larger her smile became and the more those eyes hypnotized him, the bigger his smile became. He could feel his cheeks blushing lightly; "well …" he began as a light laugh escaped his chest, "we're curious I guess."

When she laid her hand on his hand, which was resting on his knee, a tingling sensation ran up his arm, as well as up and down his leg, and was so light he almost didn't feel it. His smile wavered as he looked into her eyes. Her hand ran lightly up his arm to the crook of his elbow, "you're not like everyone else that comes here are you? There's definitely something special about you."

He wanted to blink and turn away, she was almost scaring him but at the same time mesmerizing him with her eyes. The tingling sensation followed her hand up his biceps to his shoulder. He leaned forward, not exactly sure why he was so compelled to get as close to her as he could. Their eyes never left each other as their noses nearly touched. He could smell the sent of roses and lavender, her breath was warm on his lips, "the curious little school boy?" she asked so softly he barely heard.

Her hand moved up to cup his head under his ear and jaw. As her fingers curled lightly in his long hair he closed his eyes. The tingling made his head feel light and he felt her lips press against his. A wave of warmth flooded his senses and he felt as if he had been wrapped up in blanket of calmness. He felt no pain, no concern, no worry. The world didn't exist outside of this moment, this woman, this kiss.

One of the boys in the back of the room shifted a pew roughly and the loud noise brought him back to his senses. He opened his eyes as the girl drew back from him and lowered her hand. Sam had a sudden urge to grab her back and pull her close. He wanted to feel that warmth again, but she stood up abruptly and backed a few steps. He stood up as well as she stepped around him heading for a side door of the church.

"Wait," he reached for her arm but she deftly avoided his grasp. She did however, pause and turn back towards him.

"I have to go, but I'll be back on Wednesday if you and your friend are still around." She smiled lightly before going out the door.

"Sam?"

Sam turned around to see Dean walking up towards him.

"What are you doing dude?" Dean was frowning harshly at him. "Come on, lets get back to the motel room, what were doing out here anyway?"

Sam blinked and followed Dean from the church, "I was talking to a girl that I'd seen sitting in the church during the sermon. I wanted to ask her what she knew."

"For half an hour?" Dean grumbled.

"Half an hour?" Sam stopped at the door to the car, "I wasn't out there half an hour. It couldn't have been for more than a minute or two."

"Dude," Dean stared him straight in the eye, "I talked to Paul for half an hour getting stories about the times he'd healed people. Probably longer, waiting for your dumb ass to come back in there."

Sam shrugged, "sorry, it didn't seem like I was here that long."

Frowning, Dean jerked his head towards the door, "come on."

They returned to the hotel and did some more research but finally decided they would just need to go back and see if anything happened during the Wednesday service.


	3. Addicted to Love?

_**Typical Disclaimer:** This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you to everyone and I hope you enjoy it._

---

As Sam and Dean pulled up to the church, they noticed that the Wednesday evening crowd was about as large as the Sunday crowd.

Dean felt a light tingling sensation as he entered the doorway of the church that traveled up his right arm and gave him a light shiver. He looked around but didn't see anything, then just shrugged guessing there was a draft from the air conditioning blowing through the crack between the door and the wall.

They sat down in the same pew in the back of the church as everyone else crowded up front. The sermon began as it did on Sunday, everyone listening to the chosen topic of the youth groups and sports activities. Apparently there was some concern about possible gang activity spreading from one of the nearby towns.

Dean pulled out the EMF, but didn't want to turn it on. The squeal it could possibly give off in the quiet church would attract too much attention.

Sam glanced to his left and there she was. Sitting the in the same place as yesterday. She looked over at him and smiled.

His heart began to race and he drew in a quick breath. Dean heard it and looked at him, "what's wrong?"

Sam turned to his brother, noting the look of worry in his eye. Sam smiled lightly, "that's her, over on the opposite side of the church."

Dean glanced over, "there's no one there."

Sam quickly glanced back, she was gone, and then he saw her in the entry way of the church heading for the stairwell. "I'll be right back," he whispered as he started to get up.

Dean grabbed his arm, "where are you going?"

"I saw her head up the stairs; I want to talk to her again." Sam bit his lower lip a little and pulled from Dean's grasp, "I'll be right back."

"Yeah, like last time. Dude, remember you're in a church," Dean's smirk did not go unnoticed and Sam frowned harder, but said nothing and just headed out the door and up the stairs.

As he reached the top of the stairs, he saw her go into one of the rooms near the end of the hallway. It didn't take long for his long legs to reach the door and open it. The pressure against the door was a little more than usual and he noted the spring mechanism that caused the door to slowly close completely behind him after he entered the room.

She was sitting near the center on a long conference table smiling pleasantly, "hello again."

Sam's instincts where screaming at him that something wasn't right, but he moved towards her anyway. As he stood in front of her, he coughed lightly, "I …" he couldn't find any words to say. He knew he should be asking her all kinds of questions but when she reached out and took his hand he couldn't remember a singly one to ask.

The light tingling sensation returned, his mind was racing as fast as his heart. He wanted to move in closer, to feel that warmth and calmness he'd felt a few days ago that he just couldn't get out of his mind. At the same time he needed to know who this woman was and how she could have such an effect on him.

She pulled his hand and he obediently moved closer to her. She placed his hand on her waist and then gently touched his arm as she moved her hand up to his shoulder. Once her hand was on the back of his neck, she gently pulled him down to her and hugged him with her other arm. Instead of embracing in another kiss, she pulled his head beside hers and hugged him tightly. As her body touched his, the tingling sensation enveloped him and made his knees weak. He felt like he was going to fall, but as his knees buckled, he didn't hit the ground hard. Instead he felt like he was floating as she slid off the table and helped him roll down onto his back.

She straddled him on the floor, still holding him tightly. As she pulled her arm out from under him, her lips and warm breath caressed his ear, neck, jaw line, and around to his lips. His body shuddered as he lost all sensation of everything except her touch. As their lips embraced and the warmth took over his body he let go of all thoughts except for her.

He could hear someone calling his name somewhere far in the distance. He refused to acknowledge it though. He still felt as if he were floating on nothing, surrounded by warmth, without a care in the world.

He was breathing and he had a pulse. "Sammy!" Dean yelled at his baby brother and pulled him up off the floor into a sitting position by his arm and shirt. Sam slouched and his head fell forwards.

The jerking motion on his arm distracted him from his comforting rest and he frowned, he could still hear Dean's voice but it sounded so far away. _"I can wait just a minute more until he gets closer, then I'll get up,"_ Sam thought as he felt like he was being pulled up.

"Sammy, come on man, wake up. Sammy, please!" Dean was beginning to panic and was about to lay him back down and call 911 when a groaning sound escaped Sam's throat. Dean cupped Sam's chin in his hand making Sam's face look up at him, "come on Sam, open your eyes."

Slowly, groggily, Sam complied. Blinking a few times, his eyes finally took focus on Dean's worried, almost panicked expression. It almost reminded him of the look on his face from their airplane venture. "What happened?" he croaked out after taking a deep breath and planting his hands on the ground so that he was supporting himself.

"Dude, you were gone for the entire sermon and when you didn't come back after everyone else started to leave I came looking for you. Found you here on the floor unconscious." Dean stepped back away from Sam and offered his hand to help his brother up off the floor.

"Where'd she go?" Sam questioned as he glanced around the room, a light fear beginning to creep into his chest.

"Who?" Dean frowned as his brother spun around looking at the empty room.

"The girl."

"I never saw a girl Sam. When I found you, you were alone." Dean suddenly laughed, "You better check your wallet and make sure she didn't swipe it."

Sam's frown and serious face hushed Dean up but it didn't take the smirk off his face. Dean smacked him lightly on the arm, "alright, let's get out of here."

They returned to the motel and went over everything they'd found so far. Other than eyewitness accounts, there was nothing for them to go on. The minister couldn't just do it on a whim and couldn't tell them when the next time would be.

"I think we should just book it, dude," Dean said from his place on his bed. "I'm bored and I really don't want to hang out here waiting for some supposed healer to do something. Besides, Layla and her mom appear to have gone home." Dean pouted lightly and Sam rolled his eyes.

"I want to stay a little longer," Sam said suddenly realizing that if they left he wouldn't have a chance to see the girl again.

Dean picked up on the slight agitation in Sam's voice, "what is it with this girl that's got you all flustered, dude?"

"I'm not flustered." Sam snapped back a little too harshly, which made Dean just smirk and close his eyes. Sam frowned. He wanted to see her again. He'd slept better in the nights after meeting her than he could remember. Even when he was with Jess he'd have nightmares. But since he met this girl, he'd had peaceful dreams if any dreams at all. Not to mention her touch was amazing and … addictive. Sam swallowed hard, taking into account his emotions and his almost desperate desires to find her again … like an addiction.

"Dean," Sam whispered almost too softly for Dean to hear, but he sat up in bed and looked at his brother's paling face.

"What's wrong."

"I think there's something about that girl. I …" his voice trailed off. How could he tell his brother he was addicted to some chick? His brother would have a field day with that one.

"What about her?" Dean smirked.

"I don't know."

Dean laughed, "why don't you go to the church and see if you can find out who she is. Maybe she'll be there waiting for you."

Sam didn't think twice about it, he grabbed the keys from the table and hurried out the door.

"Sam!" He heard Dean calling from the room but didn't respond. As he climbed into the Impala and started the engine he saw Dean open the door to their room with a slight frown on his face. Sam put the car in reverse and headed for the church with a determination to find out exactly what was going on with this girl.

Dean watched Sam bolt out the door and a sudden fear ran up his spine. He called Sam's name as he jumped up from the bed and ran to the door. The engine started up and he watched as his brother drive quickly out of the parking lot. Now he was worried. He picked up his cell phone and called Sam's number only to be surprised as it began ringing on the small table near the window.


	4. Addicted to What?

_**Typical Disclaimer:** This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you to everyone and I hope you enjoy it._

---

Cursing lightly Dean began to pace the room, he wanted to run after his brother but didn't have a car to do it. He could steal a car, but in the middle of the day he was more likely to get caught. Instead he opted to call the church. Once he had Paul on the line he explained that they thought they had a lead but that Sam had left his phone and asked that Paul have Sam call him as soon as he arrived at the church. Paul had agreed, so now Dean paced the motel room again.

Sam pulled up to the church and quickly ran in. The doors were open and inviting, though the church was empty save for a volunteer who was polishing the candle holders around the front near the podium. "Hey," Sam called out to the boy, who turned and smiled, "Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for someone, a girl in her early twenties. Kinda long brown hair and dark blue eyes?"

The boy shook his head, "I'm not sure who that could be. You might ask Mr. Hastings. He's in his office." The boy pointed towards the door that Dean had gone through at the beginning of the week.

Sam quickly headed down the hallway to Paul's office, where he found the minister sitting behind his desk reading over the news paper. When he entered, Paul stood up, "Sam, your partner called and wanted you to call him. You left your cell phone at the motel he said." Sam blinked and checked his pockets. He'd left his wallet, cell phone, everything except the keys to the Impala.

That didn't matter though; he shook his head and said, "I need to find someone. A girl in her early twenties with long brown hair and deep dark blue eyes. She's a member of your parish and is here for every sermon, so she says."

"Well, son, there are a lot of people who come to my sermons and I can name off quite a few that probably match your description. You don't know her name?"

Sam shook his head in frustration.

"Well, if she's here for all my sermons then I'm sure she'll be back on Sunday?" Paul offered, seeing the agitation rising in the young man before him.

Sam took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right," he said softly. Faking a smile, he looked up at Paul, "thank you for your time."

Paul smiled back and nodded, "I'm here if you need me, son."

Sam turned around and froze. The wall of the office was covered in photos with a large assortment of people and places. But the one that caught his attention was the one with the girl in it. He stepped up to the picture quickly and looked it over. It was definitely the girl and she was standing near the edge of a look-out judging by the wooden barrier and mountainous view behind her. She was standing by the barrier with a young man wrapped in each others' arms.

Sam frowned as he felt an almost jealous twinge creep up his spine. He pointed to her picture as he turned to Paul, "this is her."

Paul's frown and the tilting of his head immediately told Sam that he wasn't going to like what the minister was about to say. "I'm sorry son, but that can't be her. Leigh died almost 50 years ago."

His heart sank; he knew it was going to be bad news. "Really?" He tried to feign mild interested, "how did she die?"

A deep breath and a sad sigh later, Paul stated, "she committed suicide by jumping off that very look-out."

"Oh." Sam couldn't keep the sadness out of his voice, "who's the guy with her?"

"Me."

There's the connection. Sam's hunter instincts were starting to kick in. "Do you know why she did it?"

Paul frowned and shook his head.

"Can you tell me how to get to this spot?"

Paul wasn't sure why the boy was so curious and hesitated, but eventually shrugged and gave him the directions he wanted.

Sam bolted out of the church and back into the Impala.

Dean knew that Sam should have reached the church by now, so he picked up his phone and called again. He spoke briefly with Paul and learned what had transpired. He asked Paul a few more personal questions that seemed to offend Paul, but Dean had to know what they were up against. The girl and Paul were friends, her name was Leigh, she'd committed suicide shortly after Paul had left for ministry school, and that Leigh hadn't wanted him to go because she was in love with him. Apparently she couldn't get over him leaving and jumped from the look-out. _"Apparently not,"_ Dean grumbled to himself.

After getting the same direction to the look-out that Sam had, Dean went out in search for a car. This time, he didn't care if it was broad daylight.

Sam followed the directions until he reached the look-out. He thought about grabbing a salt rock filled shotgun from the trunk, but hesitated. What if someone else was here? He needed to check out the area first. He walked up the trail from the parking area to where the look-out rested. The view was amazing and Sam paused for a moment as he drank in the scenery of the trees and mountains surrounding him.

"You found me?" The soft voice was calm, soothing, and full of joy that he'd tracked her down. Only he hadn't tracked her down for the reason's she believe … except in that moment, Sam had forgotten why he was there. He remembered her, the touches, the sensations, and he wanted that again. The peace of mind, the dreamless nights, the restful sleep, he wanted all of that.

Sam stepped closer to her and she smiled such a loving smile that Sam's heart melted for her. The only other person who could have possibly made him feel this way was Jess, only Jess was gone and Leigh was here with open arms and comforting touches. His mind was spinning as he embraced Leigh and allowed her take control as before. He felt his knees weakening and just let himself be laid down on the ground. He closed his eyes and his arms easily slide down to the ground beside him. This time he opened his eyes and looked at Leigh. He wanted to see her face smiling at him. She was there, right beside him laying next to him on hovering slightly over him. One hand was cupping his head lightly while it was on the ground, the other was on his jaw as the fingers teased lightly as his hair. Her eyes piercing his, "shhhhh" she whispered softly, "close your eyes and rest."

Sam smiled and closed his eyes peacefully as she gently kissed his lips. He could feel her brushing her cheek against his. She was still there, even as he heard Dean's voice yelling his name from a distance, he could still feel here there with him. She hadn't run away this time. Dean would see her … would Dean try to take her from him? A sudden jealous rage started to burn inside him, but his senses suddenly dulled and his mind went blank and clear, "shhhhh" she whispered in his ear softly again, "I'm here for you and only you. Now rest."

The darkness swallowed him in that peaceful comfort that he'd longed for. Even Dean's voice was no longer in the background. He could only feel warmth, what he believed was her cheek still lightly pressing against his as she lay next to him, he was happy to be there.

---

Dean hit the brakes and skidded to a halt in one of the parking spaces near the Impala. Jumping from the car he ran over cursing that he couldn't get in the trunk. He did have his hand gun and the EMF though. He turned on the EMF and started running up the trail towards the look-out. As he neared the top the EMF ready blared to life with all the red lights shining brightly at him. Cursing as he ran the remainder of the way up, he saw Sam lying on the ground near the edge the barrier.

He ran over to Sam's side and looked around, but nothing was there. The EMF continue to scream otherwise, but he couldn't see anything. "Sam!" Dean yelled as he tried to shake his brother awake again, "Sam! Wake up dammit!" A sudden scowl appeared on his brother's face and he thought he'd gotten through, only to have it disappear in a look of such peace that Sam almost appeared dead. Panic began to rise is Dean's chest as he quickly checked for breath and a pulse. Both were there, so he tried shaking Sam again. This time it did nothing.

Still the EMF reader continued to blare. "Let him go you bitch!" Dean screamed at the air. He tucked his gun into his belt and the EMF into a pocket before hauling Sam up by wrapping his arms around his chest from the back. He dragged Sam backwards carefully down the trail to the Impala. He began sifting through Sam's pockets looking for the keys, but they weren't there. Cursing he looked in the car, they were still hanging in the ignition.

Biting back curses about how his beloved car could have been stolen, he opened the back door and pulled his beloved brother into the back seat. Exiting the door on the opposite side, he tried one more time to wake Sam by tapping him lightly on the face and shaking him by the color of his jacket. "Sammy come on man, you're scaring the hell out of me here!" He made sure Sam was in the car completely before shutting both doors and climbing into the driver's side and racing back to the motel.

Dean struggled to pull Sam into the motel room and onto one of the beds. He still hadn't moved but his breathing and heart beat were normal. He paced the motel room trying periodically to wake Sam for almost two hours before he got a reaction.

Sam's warmth was being interrupted by Dean's voice again and something cold on his forehead. Unlike the warmth of Leigh's breath and touch, this was cold and slightly rough. As he turned his head slightly to try to get away from it, he heard Dean's frantic call again, "Sam? Come on Sam, you can do it, wake up." Sam opened his eyes slowly and blinked a few times before they came into focus on Dean's extremely taunt and worried face.

"Dean?"

An extremely heavy sigh escaped Dean's lips as his head dropped in relief. "God, Sammy, you have got to stop doing this to me." Dean got up from the bed and paced the room a little all the while giving Sam an angry look, "how could you run off like that and try to take on some ghost without me?"

Sam eased himself up on his elbows and tried to answer him. Only he didn't really have an answer. He had no idea why he would go against all his hunter's instincts. Why he had such a need for her touch. "I don't know."

"You don't know!" Dean's voice was rising in obvious anger and confusion, "how can you not know Sammy. You left this room in my car, went to the church, found out what she is, and then deliberately went to the look-out instead of coming back here. Now I want to know why." Dean was no longer pacing. He was staring at Sam like a parent whose child had just run out in the road without looking both ways and almost got hit. He was angry that Sam had almost gotten hurt but at the same time relieved that Sam seemed to be fine, not to mention completely confused as to why Sam would do something like this.

Sam knew why he'd gone there, knew that she was some sort of addiction and probably demonic in nature. "Did you see her and kill her?" Sam almost dreaded to hear the answer and fully expected Dean to tell him that he'd never be able to see or touch her again.

Dean heard the question and saw the expression on Sam's face and couldn't believe it. Sam seemed worried that he might have actually done it. Or was he worried that he hadn't done it? Dean wasn't sure, but he answered anyway, "no Sam. I never saw her. I only saw you on the ground unconscious and unresponsive again and dragged you back here." Another twinge of anger began to well up inside Dean as he saw Sam relax as if it were good news. "But we're going to take care of it, that's for damn sure. I'm going to find out where she's buried and I'm taking care of her bones tonight."

Sam cringed at the venom in his brother's words. He watched as Dean opened the laptop and began researching. A strange desire to stop Dean began to wiggle in his stomach like a worm. But he knew Dean was right. Instead, he just lay back on the bed and closed his eyes.


	5. The Healing

_**Typical Disclaimer:** This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you to everyone and I hope you enjoy it._

---

"Son of a bitch!"

Sam jerked awake as his brother growled at the laptop. "What?"

"Your ghost girlfriend was cremated. It says here, they found her after she jumped from the look-out and her family cremated her." Dean's frown deepened, "according to this article, her parents were devastated over the loss but knew how Leigh loved the look-out. They believed that she fell because she was too happy to have committed suicide. They cremated her and let the ashes out at the look-out." Dean hit the table with his fist. "How can she be haunting the place if she's been cremated?"

Sam sat up and shrugged, "maybe there's an item like Bloody Mary or Hook Man?"

Dean nodded, "we need to go back and talk to Paul." He stood up and grabbed his jacket and the keys. Glancing over he noticed that Sam wasn't moving. "You coming?"

Sam was suddenly a little afraid to go. He knew that if he went he could have a chance of seeing her again. He wanted to see her. That was problem, he really wanted to see her more than anything else, and that scared the hell out of him.

Dean must have sensed what Sam was thinking, "I wont let her near you. I'm not going to let anything happen to you Sammy, you know that."

Sam looked up, knowing his brother was sincere, "but Dean … you can't even see her."

Dean frowned. Sam had a point. "I'm not leaving you here alone. So far you've only seen her at the church and the look-out, so maybe those are the only places she can appear, but I don't want to leave you here alone just in case it's something else."

Sam nodded, grabbed his jacket, and followed Dean out the door.

---

When they arrived at the church, there were a few cars in the parking lot, so the boys left their larger weapons behind. They could hear talking and movement upstairs. The pews were empty so they went upstairs. There was a youth group having a meeting in one of the conference rooms at the end of the hall. One boy in is middle teens was walking back to the room when he saw Sam and Dean. He smiled and waved lightly as Dean waved to catch his attention, "we're looking for Mr. Hastings." The boy smiled and pointed to the last door on the left, "he's in there discussing our trip with our parents."

"Thanks."

The boy smiled again and said, "No problem," as he went back into the room where the other kids were.

"We should probably wait downstairs," Sam whispered, still a little anxious to be there.

Dean nodded and they went down and sat in one of the pews. Dean pulled out the EMF and turned it on, nothing. Sam took a deep breath and sighed in relief. Dean smiled and set the reader on the pew beside him, leaving it turned on.

After a while of waiting, Paul came down stairs with the parents and mingled with them for a little while longer near the entrance until they finally gathered up their respective kids and left the church. Paul noticed Sam and Dean sitting there and sat down on the same pew with them. "How can I help you boys today?"

"We need to know everything you know about Leigh." Dean said bluntly.

Paul frowned and sat back a little, studying the two boys in front of him. "Why?"

"Uhhh, because we stumbled on to her story while working on yours and we think it would make a good addition or second story for later," Sam tried to persuade.

"Look, she was a very good friend of mine and we were all shaken by her decision to take her own life. You two need to leave her be. I will not have you sullying her name for your own fame." Paul stood angrily and indicated with his hand towards the door of the church. "Unless you have need for guidance in a spiritual fashion, I would like for you to be on your way."

"Mr. Hastings," Sam tried to sooth the now ruffled minister, "I'm sorry we upset you."

Dean grabbed the EMF from the pew and followed Sam from the church, as they reached the car the whine and lights from the indicator made them both jump. Looking up at the entrance to the church, Leigh stood in the doorway looking at Sam.

Dean couldn't see anything. He looked at Sam and then tried to look in the same direction but saw nothing. "Do you see her?"

"Yeah. She's in the doorway." Sam's voice was soft, like he was looking at something that took his breath away. That's what scared Dean; that it might actually take his breath away and not give it back.

Sam took a couple of steps back towards the church before Dean got his attention, "Sam! Get in the car."

Sam hesitated, looking back a Leigh in the doorway. She had her hand stretched out towards him smiling. He wanted so desperately to go up there and take her hand, but Dean walked around the car and stood in front of him, "get in the car Sam. Now."

Sam blinked a few times, looking at Dean and the worry that was beginning to creep onto his face. Without looking back up at Leigh, he nodded and got in the car. He kept his eyes on the floorboard, not going unnoticed by Dean, and didn't look up until they were out of the church parking lot and on the road back to the hotel.

"What has gotten into you, dude?" Dean scowled but never took his eyes off the road. "It's like she's got some kind of hypnotic control over you or something."

"I don't know," Sam whispered from his seat, "but it's worrying me."

"You and me both."

---

Once back at the hotel, Dean began taking inventory of their supplies. "Ok, I'm going back to the church tonight and searching Paul's office. Maybe I can find something there."

"What about me?" Sam asked as he realized Dean was making plans that didn't involve the word _we_ at all.

"You're not going anywhere near that church, look-out, or anything else that might involve that girl. So basically, you're keeping your butt here in the motel room."

"Dean, don't you think that's a bit extreme."

"Nope."

"Dean?"

"Nope. You're keeping your butt here if I have to hog-tie you."

"Dean!"

---

Dean parked the Impala a block away and walked in the shadows to the side entrance of the church. There were no cars in the driveway and no lights on inside. Picking the lock easily, the door swung quietly opened. He'd already checked during their previous visits and the church didn't have an alarm system. He closed the door behind him, turned on his EMF and flashlight, and headed for Paul's office.

He searched from one end of the church to the other and found nothing. The only thing that seemed to be remotely linked to her was the one picture in Paul's office.

Frustrated and tired, he left the church and headed back to the motel.

Sam leapt from the bed as Dean walked in the door, "well?"

"Easy boy," Dean smirked at him, "I didn't find anything. There was nothing in that church about her except the picture. The EMF never went off either." Dean frowned, "I guess the next thing we can check is Paul's house, after he leaves for the church in the morning."

---

The boys park a little ways down the street from Paul's house. They watched from the safety of their hiding place as he drove away to the church. Checking to make sure no one was watching or out and about before they quickly jumped the fence and picked the back door.

As soon as they entered the house Sam knew she was there. Not because Dean's EMF reader began screaming two seconds later, but because he could feel her.

"Get out of here Sam," Dean snapped as the EMF needle and red lights maxed themselves.

Sam couldn't see her, but he could feel her there. Dean got in front of Sam and pushed him back out the door. At first he fought against it, not really understanding why. He wasn't looking at Dean, he was looking farther into the house, looking for her. It wasn't until Dean's hands roughly shoved against his chest that he looked down into his brother's extremely worried eyes and allowed himself to be pushed back out the door.

"What the hell was that Sam?" Dean growled once they were away from the house standing in the back yard.

"I … I don't know … she's in there … somewhere." Sam replied hesitantly.

"No shit Sherlock," Dean snapped, "Keep your ass out here, do you hear me?"

Sam blinked in slight confusion at first then understanding swept over his features as he took a deep breath and nodded his assent to Dean.

Dean turned around and entered the house carefully. There was no alarm and no pets to deal with, so he went about searching the house for anything that might appear to be related to Leigh.

Dean was extremely nervous as he went through the living area of the house, he couldn't see Sam because there were no windows, but Sam had promised to stay away from the house. Everything was neat and tidy. The pictures on the wall were scenery. A few portraits were on the hallway walls as he moved to the back rooms of the small one-story house. He entered one room that had been set up as a small office and glanced out the window into the back yard. Sam was pacing nervously near the fence.

As Dean started going through the desk drawers the EMF flared and then died out. Dean frowned at it, thinking the batteries might have run out. Then he heard Sam call out. Rushing to the window he could see Sam backing up slowly, calling his name.

"Dean!" Sam yelled, hoping his brother would hear him without alerting the neighbors at the same time. Leigh was walking slowly towards him from the porch. It was strange that he didn't feel the same pull to her that he did before. As she stepped almost within touching, he back up and called for Dean again. She gave him a slightly confused look, almost hurt.

She suddenly looked off into the distance, but her eyes drooped almost sleepily like she was listening to something far away. "I have to go to the church." She whispered, "Someone needs to be healed." She looked back at Sam, smiled, and disappeared.

Dean came running out of the house with his gun drawn, looking franticly around the yard before reaching Sam. "What? Is it her?" Dean saw nothing and turned to Sam, "Sammy?"

"She's gone." Sam blinked and took a deep breath, "she said she was going to the church because someone needed to be healed."

They raced back to the car and to the church.

The service had already started when they arrived. "Sam, I think you should stay in the car." Dean looked over at his brother with concern.

"What? No way!" Sam frowned, "you can't even see her Dean. I have to go in there with you."

"Sam, no. I'm not taking a chance on her getting to you again."

"I'm not staying in the damn car, so just stop and let's go." Sam opened the door and stepped out.

Dean growled but followed Sam into the church. As they neared the door the EMF reader maxed again. They both stopped to look at it nervously, then Dean turned it off and put in back in his pocked.

They entered the church and could see Paul at the podium speaking to a large number of people filling most of the pews. Looked like the same crowd from the previous Sunday. Paul saw them enter and a flicker of disapproval flashed quickly across his face, but was gone after a breath and he continued with his sermon. They quickly took their usual seats and Sam began looking for Leigh.

She was sitting in the same seat that Sam had seen in her the first time he'd laid eyes on her. She was staring at nothing in particular and appeared to be listening and talking to no one in particular. After a few moments, she stood up and walked up to Paul.

Sam stiffened, which immediately made Dean stiffen and start looking to where Sam was. Dean couldn't see anything, so he began pressing Sam, "what's going on?" He had to ask twice and lightly punch his brother's arm before Sam finally responded.

"It looks like she's talking to Paul. She's standing next to him saying something, but I can't hear."

Even as the words finished leaving Sam's mouth, Paul stopped talking and appeared to lose his train of thought as the looked down at the podium. Leigh walked away from him, heading down the isle towards the back of the church and Sam became more nervous as she neared him. This made Dean more nervous and he started to stand up, but Sam caught his arm, "wait."

Leigh moved towards the back of the church to the last pew where other people were seated, smiling to where Sam and Dean were sitting.

Paul coughed at the podium and anxious eyes looked up at him, "Thomas Wilman? Is Thomas here with us today?"

There was a simultaneous gasp through the church as a woman stood up with her young two year old cradled in her arms. "He's here, he's my son." The boy was wearing a cute pant and shirt outfit and nice shoes, probably his Sunday best. He was limply holding on to his mother and barely picked his head up to look around as she stood. He was horribly pale and the dark circles under his eyes stood out more contrasting to the paleness of his face.

The other people in the church became excited and some even whispered loudly that he was going to heal the boy.

Sam and Dean both shuddered as their memories of Reverend Le Grange came to mind once again as Paul began talking about how God had sent him a message with this boys name to be healed of his illnesses. Sam watched dumbfounded as Leigh walked down each pew with her arms outstretched. He could see something happening as she touched each person, like wisps of smoke and light were leaving each individual and being drawn into Leigh.

The closer she got to the podium where the woman had already taken the boy, the more her body began to radiate a light of its own. Paul had asked the woman to come up next to him and had pulled a chair up for her to sit in. By the time Leigh reached where they were, Paul was on his knees with his hand on the boys back praying. Leigh was like a majestic light that almost hurt Sam's eyes to keep them on her, but he watched intently as she walked up to the boy and placed her hand over Paul's. Sam could see the same kind of wispy light coming from Paul as he did the other people in the church, but instead of going into Leigh it became part of a flowing river that was leaving Leigh and entering the boy.

Dean watched anxiously between Paul and Sam trying to get a feel for what was going on. Sam refused to acknowledge him as he whispered, "what's happening Sam?" Sam's awestruck expression didn't make him feel any better, but it was obvious that Sam was not in trouble as he had been the last couple of times they'd encountered Leigh. Dean turned his attention to the boy who had started to convulse slightly in his mother's arms where she gripped him tightly and prayed along with the rest of the congregation.

Sam watched as the light dimmed around Leigh, but even after she appeared to be back to normal the wisps of light continued to leave her. He suddenly became concerned as her form started becoming transparent. "What is she doing to herself?" Sam whispered in such a scared tone that it started even Dean.

"What do you mean? Sam? What is going on?"

"Leigh is the one healing the people. I think that's what she's doing right now, she's up there healing the boy. But it looks like it's killing her … except that she's already dead …" Sam blinked and looked at Dean, "I don't know exactly what she's doing, but it looked like she took something from everyone in the church and she's giving it to the boy."

"Took something? Took what?"

"I don't know Dean, just something." Sam was starting feel frustrated at all Dean's questions. He was concerned about Leigh and didn't really know why. He wanted to go up there and make her stop before she disappeared, which she was nearly to that point when he looked up there again. He even started to move, but Dean grabbed his arm. He jerked his arm away and looked up to the podium just as Leigh disappeared completely. He suddenly felt complete panic, "She's gone Dean; she disappeared!"

"Ok, so we go check on the boy and the minister." Dean frowned, he could tell that Sam was upset but couldn't understand why. "What's wrong with you Sam?"

"Nothing."

"Yeah, whatever. Get up there so we can talk to Paul." Dean pushed Sam a little towards the end of the pew. Unfortunately everyone else was still in the church and crowding around the boy. As they hesitated behind the crowd someone yelled out to call 911. Sam and Dean moved out of the way and found out that Paul had collapsed and was being taken to the hospital.

"Alright, I'm going to the hospital to find out what happened to Paul. You go back to the motel and wait for me." Dean looked at Sam intensely, noticing the clenching of his jaw muscles. "Sam?"

"Yeah, I got it. Back to the motel."

It didn't take long for Dean to drop Sam off at the motel and head to the hospital. Sam went inside and immediately opened up the laptop to do as much research on Leigh as possible.

Dean waited for a while before they let him in to see Paul. They were saying he'd collapsed from exhaustion and mild dehydration. They had an IV to give him fluids, but otherwise he was awake and able to talk to Dean. Once the nurses left the room, Dean tried to ask questions about Leigh and how Paul knew to choose the boy. Paul had heard a whisper in his mind, distant and hard to hear, but when he concentrated and listened quietly, he could hear the boy's name. Unfortunately, Dean couldn't get anything more about Leigh than what Paul had already told them.

"Do you by chance have any personal items that use to belong to Leigh?"

"I don't think so, why do you ask? I thought I told you that I didn't want you sullying her name in some crap story." Paul looked a little agitated.

"No reason and we're not going to do any kind of damaging story on her. We actually wanted to look at the accidental falling side." Dean was starting to feel nervous. He needed Sam here to use those puppy dog eyes and dimples to smooth over Paul, who was obviously getting upset. But he'd rather have Sam at the motel safe. So Dean continued to talk to Paul for a little while longer about the healings and what he knew about Leigh before leaving.

Sam paced around the motel room for a while. He couldn't get the image of Leigh disappearing out of his mind. He felt the intense need to go back to the church, Paul's house, and the look-out in hopes of finding her again. Dean would kill him if he left the motel, but Sam had to find out what happened to her and find out how she healed that boy. He gathered his jacket and a few miscellaneous items, including his 45, which he tucked into his belt by his lower back. Leaving the motel room he traveled a couple of blocks before hot wiring a car that was in the back of a diner. He was closest to Paul's house, so went there first. When he didn't get the sensation that Leigh was there, he went to the church. Again nothing, so he went to the look-out.


	6. Piecing Together the Truth

_**Typical Disclaimer:** This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you to everyone and I hope you enjoy it._

---

The look-out was quiet. The weather was perfect and the view was beautiful, but that's not why he was there. "Leigh?" Sam called out as he stood near the barrier blocking the cliff that dropped down hundreds of feet to rocks, brush, trees, and eventually a river. "Leigh, are you here?"

"I'm here Sam." Leigh was standing near the end of the railing looking down at the rocks below. She glanced up and smiled lightly as Sam walked over to her. She was barely visible; he could see the railing and the ground through her. "What happened to you?" Sam whispered as he stood by her. Her eyes and smile were sad, "I had to give that boy everything Paul and I had. Though Paul has gotten old and can't give that much," she chuckled lightly.

Sam shook his head, "I don't understand. How and why do you do this?"

Leigh looked up at him, studying him, "because it seems like the right thing to do." She shrugged a little, "I learned that I could take the energy or life force from people. It was accidental the first time. A young woman came up here crying. She definitely wanted to jump. But I stopped her. I was trying to grab her and make her step away. Instead I pulled some of her life force from her. I didn't mean to, but I learned that my emotions determined what I could do. I wanted to stop her, to pull her away from the edge, and I was upset, almost angry, that she wanted to die."

Leigh turned her gaze away from Sam and looked out over the valley for a moment. Sam waited anxiously as her thoughts drifted back to that time, "I felt stronger and energized afterwards. She got weak and fell to the ground near the edge. Luckily, she wasn't close enough to fall over. She later woke up and decided it was a sign and left I guess. Afterwards, when anyone would come up here to drink or see the view, I'd take a little bit from them. I didn't want to hurt anyone, so I never took a lot. Eventually I was strong enough to leave this place. Of course the only places I seem to be able to go besides here is the church and Paul's house. But I don't mind. I've loved him since high school and can't think of any place I'd rather be than by his side."

Sam wanted to feel her touch, but he had to know what was going on. "So why do you heal people? Why do you use Paul to heal people?"

She smiled lightly, "because I feel so alive and happy when I do. Just seeing the joy that I bring to the ones I heal and the ones that love them. I've been blessed with a gift I could never have imagined. Even though it comes with the price of being dead, unseen, and unheard." She smirked playfully.

Her smile waved slightly, but then brightened, "I can't talk to anyone else. I'm surprised that you can see me, no one else can. Not that I'm complaining of course," she lightly touched his arm but it wasn't quite the same as before. The tingling was there, but no where close to the intensity as their previous contacts.

Sam was sorry for that but tried to focus on their conversation, "So how do you pick them? The people you heal, I mean." She turned back to the railing and looked out at the valley, "someone tells me. I hear a voice far away asking me to. Different voices for different people. Like for you, I hear a woman's voice. She told me you needed peace of mind to stop the nightmares." Sam's heart caught in his throat and he couldn't think of anything to say. Leigh continued as she turned back towards Sam, "for the boy today, there was a man's voice that gave me his name and asked me to heal his illness." She shrugged. "I wish I could help you again Sam, but today I have nothing to give. It will take me a little while before I can on my own. Perhaps if visitors come, I'll be able to sooner." She smiled playfully, "I really like you."

Sam shook his head and smiled back at her, "I'm ok." Then he frowned a little, a question burning in his head but not sure if now was the right time to ask, but he needed to know, "Why … uh … why did you jump?" he nodded is head indicating the cliff they were looking over.

"Jump?" Leigh looked at him in confusion, "I didn't jump. I … I'm not exactly sure what happened, but I didn't jump." Sam looked at her, realizing that the longer they stood here the more her features became solid and less transparent.

"I don't understand. Most people believe you jumped. You family believes that you fell accidentally. Did you slip maybe? Got too close to the edge?" Sam watched her features as she frowned in concentration. "What do you remember about the day you died?" He spoke softly as she stepped closer to her.

She looked up into his eyes and turned as he stepped closer. She knew if he stepped any closer they'd merge in the same space and she almost wanted him to, but she didn't have the strength to do what she wanted. She enjoyed the touch and giving to Sam as much as he did, but it would take her a little while before she could. Sam's body movements belied his desire to have her touch him, and she could tell even if Sam was trying to hide it.

"Well," she began as she thought about that last day that she knew she was alive, "I remember talking to Paul. He was telling me about this school his father was sending him to, so he could become a minister and all." She hadn't thought about that day in so long, she'd forgotten how painful it had been.

"The day started out wonderfully …" she paused again, this time her brows furrowed and her eyes lowered and became distant as if she were looking through Sam's chest. "I took a test, I was pregnant." She looked back up to Sam, "I met Paul here to tell him that." She stepped back away from Sam suddenly, several steps as if she were afraid of something, "but he was leaving … he … he didn't want me to keep it because of what his father would say … oh God … maybe I did jump." She turned and looked over the cliff, "I can't remember though … I don't remember jumping."

Sam stepped closer to her, reaching a hand out and placed it gently on her shoulder. It actually surprised him that when he did, he could feel her under his hand as if she were corporeal. He relaxed his arm a little and it remained, it didn't move through her as he expected it to. She looked up at him with sad eyes, "we argued. He left and I stayed here looking out over the valley thinking. I told him I wasn't going to give it up, that I would keep it. I believed our love could win out over his father." She looked back out in front of her thinking for a moment, "I don't remember anything for a while after that. I just remember being here and not being able to leave."

Sam frowned, "Did anyone come for you? Did you see any kind of light or doorway? Something to indicate that you were suppose to move on?"

Leigh thought for a long while before she finally looked up and answered, "I do remember someone. An older lady came by. I was so happy that she could see me and talk to me. She told me I had to follow her and leave Paul behind. I didn't want to go, so I told her no." Leigh shrugged her shoulders, "she didn't say anything else; she just disappeared."

Sam could feel the familiar tingle starting in his fingers, then into the hand he had resting on her shoulder, and as it began to move into his wrist, he removed his hand and reluctantly let it drop to his side. "I should go back to the motel. Dean will be furious and worried if he gets back there and finds me missing."

Leigh looked at him with her head tilted slightly and a confused look on her face, "why would he worry about you? You seem like a quite capable adult to me." She smiled lightly.

Sam smiled, lowering and shaking his head lightly before looking up to her, still smiling. "I am, usually, there's just," he hesitated, no exactly sure how to put it into words. "I'm, I mean I think," he just could believe he could have such a need to be around someone other than Jessica and a ghost at that! He was running thoughts about chemical reactions in his brain when she stepped forward and touched his face lightly.

"I'm sorry if I've done something wrong, I enjoying making you feel … well … feel good for a change. Rest and sleep without nightmares. I'm just sorry I wont be able to do it all the time. You're not from around here and if you're staying in a motel then you're not planning on staying either. But, for as long as you're here and I have strength, I will happily give you everything I can."

Sam's phone rang suddenly, interrupting them as Sam took a step back. Leigh didn't move forward, she just let her hand drop to her side as she watched him talk. "Hey," Sam stuttered, "yeah, Dean, I'm fine." Leigh could hear the voice loudly talking in the phone and she smiled. "I'm sorry Dean, I just had to …" Sam cringed as Dean interrupted him. "I'm at the look-out." Another pause as he listened, "yeah she's here with me, but it's alright, I'm fine." He cringed again as he listened into the phone.

Leigh turned away and walked around the look-out, Sam watching her every move with a worried expression on his face. She smiled at him and whispered, "I'm not going anywhere," as she walked a large circle. Sam visibly relaxed even as he cringed every now and again as he mumbled "yeah" and "ok" and "fine" into the phone. He finally took a deep breath and hung up the phone. Leigh looked at him with a smile still on her face. "I take it you have to go meet your brother now?" she asked lightly as she completed her circle back to where Sam was standing.

Sam nodded, "yeah he's pretty worried about me. Seems what ever you do to me knocks me out and he can't wake me. He's really protective of me. So," Sam coughed lightly, "I promised I head back to the motel now. If I don't, he's liable to come up here and just start shooting rock salt all over the place to get at you," he couldn't help but chuckle lightly at the imagined sight of Dean shooting randomly all over the look-out with Leigh probably standing behind him watching curiously.

"Well then, I will not delay you." Leigh stepped back and leaned against the railing. "I hope you come back to see me soon," she smiled.

"Yeah," Sam smiled back as he turned and headed for the parking area, "I hope to see you again soon."

---

Sam ditched the stolen car and made sure all his prints were wiped clean before walking back to the motel. Dean had called him three different times to check on his location and make sure he had left the look-out safely. He was fully expecting Dean to begin yelling at him as soon as he walked in the door, so he hesitated outside with his hand near the door knob without actually touching it. He listened to the silence coming from inside. He'd come up to the door from the side of the wall that didn't have the window into the room to keep Dean from realizing when he'd arrived. He listed for the TV, but everything was quiet and that made him a little more nervous than Dean yelling at him for going to the look-out. Sam pulled out the key and opened the door, walking into the dimly lit room.

Dean was sitting at the table in front of the laptop glaring at him when he walked into the room, but said nothing.

Sam coughed lightly, "I'm sorry Dean. I meant to be back before you so you wouldn't get upset."

That only made Dean madder, he stood up so fast and angrily that the chair flipped over. "Are you crazy? How many times do I have to pick you up off the ground before you get it into your head to stay away?" His voice so fierce that Sam thought he felt the vibrations from his anger through his skin.

"She didn't hurt me Dean. She was trying to help me." Sam spoke in his soft soothing voice with just a tinge of desperation

"Help you? She was knocking you out cold? You were unresponsive each time! How is that helping you?" Dean's voice had dropped in volume, but the anger with a touch of fear was still there.

"She told me she heard a woman's voice that told her to help me, to give me peace of mind. Any time she does this I sleep without nightmares; I sleep deeply and peacefully and get a better rest than any time I can remember since Jessica."

Sam's excitement was creeping into his voice and Dean could tell that Sam was trying desperately to convince him that she was not trying to hurt him. Dean wasn't convinced though. Anything that could take the life force from another being like the Shtriga was not a good being even if they could give it back to heal someone. This wasn't normal, this was definitely supernatural and it was his job to destroy it. Apparently he needed to do it quickly because it looked like his baby brother needed to be saved again, even if Sam didn't realize it.

Dean picked up his chair and let his shoulders slump. He sat back down and looked at the laptop, refusing to meet Sam's eyes. He knew Sam would have that puppy look that always convinced him to give his baby brother anything asked for. He just couldn't do it this time. Leigh had to have gotten into his head somehow, Sam wouldn't act this way otherwise; he just knew it.

"She says she didn't jump, by the way."

Dean glanced up, "really?"

"Yeah, she said she was too happy. She was pregnant with Paul's baby. They'd had an argument the day she died about giving it up, but she wouldn't."

Dean's eyebrows raised, "what?" Something clicked in his head, "Paul said that she was mad that he left for the ministry. He said they were just friends and that she died after he'd left. He's hiding something." He grabbed his keys, "maybe we need to have another talk with him."

---

They went up to Paul's room at the hospital. He was resting and watching TV. When the boys walked in, he frowned and took a deep breath, "boys, I'm tired. Please don't tell me you have more questions for your paper."

Dean walked slowly along the wall with his head tilted, looking knowingly at Paul, "actually we're not here for the paper, we want to know what really happened to Leigh."

Paul frowned, "I already told you what I know."

"Did you?" Dean snapped. "What about the parts where you had a fight the day she died, that you hadn't already gone to the school."

Paul's eyebrows raised and he looked a little surprised.

"How about the fact that she was pregnant and carrying your child?" Dean snapped again.

Paul grabbed the control and buzzed the nurses' station, "You need to go. I'm tired and I need my rest. Please leave."

Dean gave him a knowing smile as he and Sam walked out.

They got into the car before Dean finally said anything to Sam's confused look, "he did something I bet."

"What do you mean? He did something to Leigh?"

"I bet he did." Dean took a deep breath. He didn't want to, but they needed more information, "we need to go to the look-out and talk to Leigh."

Sam looked at him in surprise. "You're kidding me? You actually want me to go there now?"

"No, I don't!" Dean snapped in frustration, "but we need to. Mr. Goodie-goodie up there isn't going to give us anything more. You just gotta promise me something."

"What?"

"Promise me you wont let her touch you or do that mojo crap on you." Dean glanced from the steering wheel to Sam anxiously.

"Ok, I promise." Sam nodded, seeing the worry in Dean's eyes actually comforted him.

Dean nodded, started the engine, and headed for the look-out.

---

The sun was starting to set when they arrived. It was a beautiful view from the look-out. There were a few people milling about and taking pictures. Sam looked around but didn't see Leigh anywhere. "I don't see her," he whispered over to Dean as they walked towards the railing.

"Maybe she's at the church instead?"

"She said she could go here, the church, or Paul's house." Sam remembered said over his shoulder as he continued to glance around.

"Ok, we'll go check…" Dean started to say before he was interrupted by Sam's hand grabbing his forearm.

"There she is …" he was looking towards the far side of the clearing towards the trees, "she standing over there by that big tree, near the woman with her baby … I think she's talking to her … or maybe talking to the baby?" Sam looked a little confused as he watched her.

Dean looked over and saw the woman holding the baby, pointing towards the colorful skyline where the sun had dropped below the hills and was painting the sky and clouds purple, red, and orange. The baby was gurgling and smiling, but it was definitely looking at the tree. The mother didn't seem to notice and though the baby was enjoying the view too.

"Is Leigh touching the baby?" Dean suddenly asked.

Sam shook his head, "no, just talking it looks like." Sam smiled.

They waited a while longer and watched as the people stopped taking pictures and left once the sun had set. Leigh was still standing against the tree watching Sam and Dean. While Dean watched the people leave, Sam watched Leigh.

Finally, it was just the three of them. It was getting dark and the look-out didn't have any kind of lighting. Dean pulled out a flashlight and scanned over the area, but they were alone. "Ok, where is she now?"

"Still over by the tree."

Dean shined the light to the tree where he'd seen the woman and baby earlier, but he still couldn't see her. This bothered him more than anything. If she decided to attack Sam again, he wouldn't be able to see to stop her. Not to mention the fact that if she attacked him he wouldn't be able to see her in order to defend himself.

Sam walked towards her with Dean close beside him shining the flashlight out in front of them.

Leigh looked solid and beautiful to Sam as they approached. She smiled at Dean, even though she knew he couldn't see her, and then turned to Sam. "Hello again. Brought your bodyguard with you?"

Sam let out a little laugh as he looked at the ground and then his brother sidelong before looking back up to her, "yeah, I guess so."

"What?" Dean frowned.

"Don't worry, Sam. I can tell how nervous your brother is. I'm not going to come anywhere near you unless you ask me to." She had a mischievous grin on her face.

"I'm sure he'll appreciate that."

"What?" Dean snapped as he continued to frown.

Sam laughed, "She just said that she's not going to come near me because she knows you're nervous about her."

Dean shifted and moved his shoulders like he was stretching, "well, yeah … what do you expect when there's a spook around that I can't see but keeps putting my brother into a coma or deep sleep or whatever it is."

"So … what brings you two out here to my little spot in the world?"

"Well," Sam cleared his throat, "we need to ask you about the night you died again." Leigh nodded and waited for him to continue. "You said you had a fight with Paul."

"Right," Leigh nodded again.

"Well, Paul tells us that you were upset and died after he'd left for the school." Dean watched as Sam talked to the air and felt left out, but stood quietly beside Sam looking for any indication that she might be doing something. He saw only Sam looking towards the tree and talking to the air.

Leigh frowned and shook her head, "no … we were standing over here," she left the tree and walked towards the railing near the center of the area. The cliff was only a foot or two on the other side.

When Sam started to follow her, Dean grabbed his arm, "dude, what's going on?" Sam blinked, a little confused at first, and then remembered that Dean didn't know what she'd said or what she was doing. "Oh, she's showing me the spot she was standing when she was talking to Paul." Sam pointed to where Leigh was now standing.

Dean walked over to where he was pointing and Leigh stepped back as he reached her and looked over the edge.

Leigh looked into his hazel eyes and smiled, even though he couldn't see her didn't mean she couldn't check him out. She noticed Sam smile, shaking his head as he looked down to the ground. "What?" she asked playfully.

Sam just chuckled, "doesn't matter where we go or what we're doing, Dean can always get the chicks to check him out."

Dean looked up sharply and turned in a few circles looking around, "what? What's going on?"

Sam laughed, "she's checking you out."

Dean raised an eyebrow and gave Sam a smirk, "I've even got it with the dead chicks, eh?"

"Yeah, remember Kim?" Sam couldn't help but laugh at the scrunched up face Dean made at the mention of the vampire.

"Yeah, whatever … come on, we're getting off topic here. Ask her about Paul and the fight."

Sam looked over to Leigh, who just shrugged. "I told you what I remember. We were here; I was happy and told him about the baby. He got mad because he was going to go to school and follow in his dad's footsteps. He could get married but not until after we came back from school. He didn't want me to keep the baby because it would ruin his reputation," Leigh spat the word as if it left a bad taste in her mouth.

"Ok, so you argued about the baby … then what?" Sam asked softly, knowing this was a little upsetting to her.

"He told me that he wasn't going to let me ruin his reputation, that he was leaving for school, and didn't want to hear anything more about the baby. That he'd deny it was his if I didn't get rid of it." Leigh's eyes stared over the cliff. Sam wanted to press for more information, but didn't want her to be hurt by the memories. He wanted to comfort her, but knew he couldn't.

"But you didn't jump after that big fight?" Sam asked carefully.

Leigh shook her head, "No. I was crying … I remember that I was crying and looking at the beautiful valley …" Her eyes became unfocused as she looked out remembering, "I remember the colors of the sky when I looked up, praying for guidance … then …" a sudden frown crossed her face as she turned back towards Sam. He could see the pain in her expression. She took a shuddering breath and Sam thought it was kinda funny that a ghost was acting as if breathing was necessary. She looked down as another thought came to her, "I remember a pain now … a sharp pain, white light, and then darkness."

She looked up to Sam, "then I remember standing up there in the darkness of night, confused, and the older woman standing there telling me I had to follow her and leave this place."

"Oh my God," Sam suddenly whispered as the facts fell in line for him, "someone killed you. Someone hit you on the head and knocked or pushed you off the cliff." He looked at Dean and they simultaneously said, "Paul?"

"Paul? But Paul loved me as much as I loved him?" Leigh frowned, "He wouldn't, he was good man and he was going to be and did become a minister of the church!" Leigh's voice was rising in pitch as she denied but believed it at the same time.

Sam tried to soothe her, "calm down Leigh, Dean and I will go talk to him and ask him about it in the morning. You're probably right, if he loved you, he would never do something like that. Maybe a drifter passing by?" Sam didn't believe that but he was a little concerned about what she might do if she was angry enough.

Dean started walking towards the path to the car, "come on Sam, we've got some checking to do." Then he called out over his shoulder to the air, "Leigh, don't worry, we're going to find out what really happened."

Sam nodded at Leigh as he turned and followed his brother. As they started down the path, Sam looked back one more time. Leigh was no longer standing near the railing. A twinge of nervous energy ran up Sam's spine but he just shrugged it off and followed Dean. Paul was in the hospital so if Leigh was angry, she couldn't get to him … could she?


	7. Justice

_**Typical Disclaimer:** This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you to everyone and I hope you enjoy it._

---

Sam paced around the motel room after they'd returned. Dean sat on his bed cleaning various guns. He glanced up a couple of times but didn't bother asking his little brother what was wrong. He'd only get a shake of the head and a mumbled "nothing" he was sure.

Sam finally broke the silence, "maybe I should go back to the look-out to make sure she's ok?"

Dean gave him his typical 'yeah right' sideways glance and said, "no Sam. We don't know that Paul actually killed her, but if she thinks he might and thinks that we might keep information from her, she might hurt you again."

"She never hurt me Dean. Why wont you see that? She never hurt me. She made me feel," Sam paused as he tried to find the right words but couldn't, "good, I guess." Sam shook his head and looked at the floor.

Dean raised his eyebrows in slight surprise, "good? She made you feel good? Sam you were unconscious on the ground and wouldn't wake up, that's not good in my book."

Sam huffed and began his pacing back and forth again. He shook his hands out trying to disperse the nervous energies he was feeling. He wanted to go back to the look-out.

"Dude, stop it already," Dean barked at him. "You're acting like you're coming off some drug or something."

Sam stopped pacing and met his brother's gaze. There were no words exchanged, just the look that said Dean had hit it right on the nail's head. Sam looked at the floor and sunk down into the chair.

Dean assembled and packed all the weapons and cleaning supplies. As he cleared the last of them off the bed he glanced over at Sam still sitting in the chair with his head in his hands. "Get some sleep Sammy." He plopped himself on his bed and turned on the TV. "I mean it Sam, you look like shit. You need to get some normal sleep, not that whatever induced rest as you call it."

Sam looked up at him and nodded, "I guess." He walked over to his bag and undressed before climbing under the covers of his bed. He tossed and turned for a long while, but eventually drifted off to sleep.

Dean watched Sam closely; he checked to make sure the keys to the Impala were in his pocket every now and again too. He waited until he finally heard the soft sounds of his brother finally going into a real sleep before he got up quietly to undress and go to sleep himself. At least he'd made sure Sam didn't sneak out.

---

"Sam?" Dean rolled off the bed and lightly smacked Sam on the calf as he headed for the bathroom. He paused at the foot of the bed to make sure that Sam actually stirred and woke up.

Sam raised his head from the pillow and looked around drowsily, "yeah?"

"Time to get up sleepy-head," Dean smiled and went into the bathroom.

"Yeah, ok," Sam mumbled as he turned over and sat up in the bed. He stretched his lean muscles and took a deep breath. As he blew out the breath he realized that he couldn't remember if he'd actually dreamed during the night. He felt rested and smiled lightly to himself. He was going to miss this after they'd left the area. Then a thought crossed his mind and his spirits raised a little. If she can heal, then they knew where to come if something bad ever happened to them again. If they got injured during a fight, as long as they had time to get here, they could be saved by her.

Sam got up and made a pot of coffee, packed up everything except the clothes he was going to change into, and then jumped in the shower after Dean got out.

Dean changed and packed up. He was enjoying his cup of coffee as Sam came out of the shower and got dressed. "We should get to Paul's house before he does. Just to make sure she isn't there," Dean said casually from the laptop.

Sam scoffed, "you really think she's not going to be there? And if she is there, what are we going to do about it?"

"You're going to shoot her, that's what," Dean said pointedly. "Well, if she tries to do something, you will."

Sam looked up at him with a shocked expression on his face, "you're kidding me right?"

"No. Dude, if Paul did kill her and she finds out, how exactly do you think she's going to react?"

Sam thought about it for a second, but he already knew, "she'll be pissed. She'll want revenge. She'll forget she loves him and probably want to kill him."

Dean nodded, "exactly. And you're the only one that can see her so it'll be up to you to take her out of the picture until we can figure out how she's still here. I'm betting Paul still has something of hers that he's not telling us about."

---

They pulled up and parked a few doors down from Paul's house and walked up. They knocked on the door but there was no answer. "I didn't think he'd be home yet," Dean pulled out his picks glancing around in hopes that no one was watching. It was still early and it didn't look like anyone was up and moving about yet. They entered the house and began looking around again for items that might have belonged to Leigh.

They had only been in the house for about half an hour when the EMF reader blared to life. Dean glanced nervously at Sam as he pulled it out of his pocked. Sam began looking around for Leigh. They both left the bedroom and headed to the main room of the house. Sam swallowed, "she's there," he pointed to the small couch as Dean stepped up beside him.

"Leigh?" Sam cautiously walked towards her. She wasn't looking at him; she was just sitting on the couch looking at the wall opposite her. "Leigh, what are you doing here?"

Leigh glanced up at him; her eyes were sad and a little worried. "I've been thinking about what you said yesterday. I've been trying to piece the events together; maybe I forgot something or got the order wrong." She stood up and walked towards him, stopping as she got within arms reach but he took a step back as he had in the backyard a couple of days ago.

She frowned, "I wont hurt you Sam, you don't have to act like you're afraid of me."

"I'm not afraid of you, I just … this just …" Sam struggled to find the words that wouldn't hurt her feelings, "I can't rest right now. I'm trying to help find out the truth about you."

She smiled, "I appreciate that Sam. I really do. Is that why you're here? Because you really believe Paul killed me?" Her tone was soft but Sam saw something in her eyes that made him nervous. She'd been thinking about it all night and he knew that she believed Paul killed her now.

"We don't know yet Leigh," he soothed. "We're going to ask him some questions and see if maybe he saw someone else there when he left that day."

Dean watched the one-sided conversation in frustration. He saw when Sam took a step back and fought the urge to just shoot rock salt into the air in front of him. He assumed what Leigh was saying based on Sam's response and also knew that she was beginning to believe, if she didn't already, that Paul was her killer.

Then an idea hit him, "hey Sam?" Sam looked at him, "yeah?" Dean gave Sam one of his cunning smiles and Sam knew he was up to something, "ask Leigh about Paul's souvenirs?"

Sam tilted his head to the side slightly but after a second he understood exactly what Dean was looking for. Leigh looked at Sam, "what does he mean?" Sam nodded and looked back to Leigh, "he was just wondering if Paul keeps anything of yours around here. Maybe you've seen something." Leigh looked confused, "why does he want to know that?" Sam shrugged, "well … when someone dies, loved ones tend to keep things that belonged to that person. And, if Paul knows something or remembers something, he might have it all together and we might be able to find some clues?"

Dean was rolling his eyes mumbling, "smooth."

Leigh just smiled a little, "oh, I see. Well," she looked around the room while she thought, "I'm not sure, but let me think a minute. I have been wondering around here for about 50 years you know. But I do remember some things from the beginning, when I first died and was finally able to come here."

Sam nodded and smiled lightly, "ok, just tell me what ever you can remember, no matter how small the detail. It might be important."

"Well, it took me a while before I could get away from the look-out. He'd already gone away for school when I realized that I could get to the church. I just kept thinking about him and I'd pop from the look-out to the church. Eventually, I started appearing here too. It's been several years since I'd died though." Leigh's expression was sad as she remembered.

Dean had started pacing nervously as he watched Sam. Since he couldn't hear Leigh and Sam wasn't just listening, his nerves were itching for something. Then they all heard the clicking at the door. Paul was home.

"Hide! Hide!" Dean whispered to Sam as they ducked towards the back of the house. Leigh just shrugged and followed as Sam beckoned for her to come with him. As they reach the back office area, Leigh said, "why am I hiding, it's not like he can see me." Dean opened the office window, "quick, climb out and we'll go around to the door and act like we're just arriving." Leigh watched them leave via the window and then headed back to the main room where Paul was setting down his keys.

She moved up towards him watching him intently. The images of their last fight, the blow to her head and waking up at the look-out alone and scared were running through her mind. Could this man, the man that she'd loved through middle and high school, the man she'd made love to and was more than happy to have his children, the man she'd wanted to spend the rest of her life with, even after-life with, be her murderer? She'd been thinking about it all night, ever since Sam had left her there with her thoughts. Anger and betrayal began to creep into her senses and the more she thought about it, watching Paul taking his wallet and watch and placing them in a bowl on the small table near the door, the more she realized that their last conversation was very Paul-centered. It was all about what he wanted and what he was going to do with his life.

She was closing the distance between them when the knock on the door distracted her and she remembered the boys. Paul went to the door and opened it. Even from behind she could see his shoulders sag and heard the sigh of frustration. Her eyes met Sam's and something must have been on her face because he looked at her with worry.

"Paul, we realize that you just got home from the hospital probably, but it's very important that we speak with you." Dean was tell him politely. "We've actually found some evidence that Leigh may have been murdered."

Paul shifted slightly in the doorway, "oh really?"

"Yes. May we please come in and speak with you?" Dean was doing his best to put Paul at ease, he could definitely see the tension building.

Paul thought about it for a second but stepped back and let them in. He motioned towards the couch and chair that were in his living room area, indicating that they should pick a seat and make themselves comfortable.

Sam glanced nervously at Leigh who was still staring at Paul intensely. He could see that she was upset and was afraid that she might do something, but so far she was just watching. Perhaps waiting for an indication that Paul really had been her killer? Or hoping that he was going to prove himself innocent?

"Paul," Dean started and cleared his throat, "we believe that Leigh may have been murdered. We are hoping that you might have any items that you may have kept over the years that either belonged to Leigh, pictures of her or friends, newspaper clippings that might have information or pictures?"

Paul frowned, "what? How will that help with the case? What makes you think that Leigh was murdered? I mean what evidence do you have and why haven't you taken it to the police?"

Dean and Sam exchanged glances before Dean continued, "Leigh was pregnant, with your child."

Paul almost fell onto the floor. Dean and Sam both stood up as his knees buckled slightly and he caught himself on the back of the chair, then moved to lower himself into it. "How do you know that? Who told you that?" His voice was raising almost into a panic.

Leigh was moving slowly closer to Paul and her face was suddenly a mask of no emotion at all. Sam was looking at her and Dean noticed his expression, "Sam?" Sam looked at Dean, worry in his eyes and Dean knew that Leigh was doing something. He cursed lightly and wished he could see her himself.

"Paul, listen to me," Dean shook Paul lightly on the shoulder making sure that Paul was looking him in the eye, "you're going to find this hard to believe and I don't have time to explain everything, but you have to tell me where you're keeping her items. Whatever it is, you have to tell me where Leigh's personal items are. And now."

Paul looked at him confused, "what are you talking about?"

"Look, Paul, we know that you kept something of Leigh's. We know that you were on the look-out with her and that something happened to her after your argument. You have to tell us where it is. Leigh is here and she knows the truth." Sam looked up and Leigh met his gaze. "He really did kill me, didn't he?" She whispered softly to Sam.

Paul look horrified. Dean got his attention again, "listen to me, Leigh is the one that has been healing people, she's stayed because she love you, but she knows you killed her and if you don't tell me where her things are she's going to kill you!"

Sam stood up and positioned himself between Paul and Leigh, "please let us take care of this."

Paul look at Sam and at the empty air in front of him, then stood up and backed away from Dean, "you guys are crazy, get out of my house right now."

Dean stood and followed Paul, "if you don't tell us where the items are she's going to kill you dude. I know we seem crazy, but she's going to kill you. Now do you want to go to the police, confess, and stay alive or let her kill you here and now?"

Paul stared at Dean hard then Sam yelled, "Leigh please!" and looked as if he were holding on to something before he suddenly shuddered and fell to his knees.

"Sam!" Dean wanted to go to his brother but knew Paul and his information was all that he had so he turned his worry and anger onto Paul, "tell me now or you wont have to worry about what Leigh is about to do!"

"In the office! In the safe! There's a case with a glass window top, it's got the newspaper clipping, pictures, and lock of hair that she gave me!" Paul was shivering and Dean didn't care if he was scared of him or believe that Leigh was really there. All that mattered was getting to that box. "What's the combo?" Dean yelled at him. Paul stuttered for a second but finally blurted, "18, 66, 42!"

Dean took off down the hallway, looking back just as he entered the room to see Paul's skin turning pale and hearing Sam yell for Leigh to stop.

Leigh touched Sam's chest and he could see the light wisps leaving his body and entering into her through her hand. He felt like he'd been punched in the chest hard during a sparring session with Dean. He had a hard time getting his breath. Leigh didn't do it for long, just long enough for Sam to go down to his knees and finally let go of her arm.

She watched Dean take off down the hallway and made her way over to Paul, "you murdered me. The man I loved and was willing to give up everything for and you murdered me. You made my family believe I'd killed myself over you. I helped you heal people and build your parishners and you forgot about me." She reached out her hand and placed it on Paul's chest. The wisps of light began to stream from him.

"Leigh no!" Sam tried to rise to his feet and move towards her, to stop her. He watched as Paul turned pale, fell to his knees, and then back to sit on his feet. He was trying to grasp for breath but couldn't seem to inhale. Sam grabbed a hold of Leigh and pulled her back away from Paul. "Leigh, please stop, let us take him to the police." Leigh looked at Sam as Paul fell to the ground gasping for breath. "Please Leigh." Sam pleaded with her and it appeared that she was listening to him. He gave her a reassuring smile and tried to step back, leading her away from Paul.

Leigh looked into Sam's eyes, he was so desperate to get to leave Paul alone but something was eating at her and a voice, something very distant, whispered to her that he needed to be punished. She let Sam lead her a step or two away from Paul then reached up and touched his face lovingly.

Sam thought it was working, he was going to save Paul, until she reached up. He realized and reacted just a second too late. She touched his cheek lovingly, the tingling began, and he sunk down into darkness.

He hard Paul cry out and opened his eyes. She'd only done what she needed to get Sam down and he looked up to see Paul's skin become pale with death and his eyes glazed over as he lay on the ground unmoving. He looked up at Leigh as she turned towards the office, "you're brother's trying to destroy me, isn't he?" Leigh headed down the hall.

Sam struggled with all the strength he could muster and bolted down the hallway blocking the door. Dean pulled the box from the safe and spilled the contents onto the clean desk's top. He put all the pictures, clippings, and lock of hair into a small pile and pulled out his lighter as Sam bolted and blocked the door. "Sam?"

Sam stood before Leigh as she glanced past him to see Dean pulling out the lighter, "please Leigh, this has to stop." Dean immediately understood what was happing and tried to light the lighter. It took a couple of strikes before the lighter blazed into life and Dean set it down to the small pile. As he watched the flames catch, Sam's knees buckled and he dropped to the floor shuddering violently a few times before he became completely still. "Sam!"

Sam tried to block Leigh's path. She saw what Dean was about to do and realized she couldn't stop him. She looked sadly at Sam, "I guess this is goodbye? At least let me give you one last thing," before Sam could step away to grabbed him by cupping both hands under his jaw. Sam's knees bucked and he dropped down. She held onto him tightly and as he fell backwards, she held onto him so that he didn't hurt his head. She carefully set his head down on the ground as his body convulsed slightly. She pulled his body into a deep sleep and grabbed a hold of his soul. She drug his soul away from his body and pulled it with her, following the sound of the voice.

Sam opened his eyes and saw Leigh's face. Light was all around him and he felt as if his body weighed a ton. He couldn't move, but he could speak, "please Leigh, please don't do this." Leigh smiled almost lovingly down at him. She was kneeling next to his head and she kissed him lightly on the forehead, "you are such a good person, this gift is the last good thing I'm going to ever get to do."

Sam looked at her in confusion as she stood up and stepped away from him. He suddenly found that he could sit up and he raised himself up to his knees as she continued to step back, "Leigh?"

She suddenly cried out and burst into flames.

---

Dean watched as the pile burned into ash and Sam's body lay still on the floor. He ran over to Sam's side and shook his shoulders, "Sammy? Sammy?" He checked his breathing and pulse, they were there but weak. He glanced back at the desk and watched as the flames slowly died out. "Sammy? Come on man wake up," he shook Sam again. He thought that maybe Sam was just in a deep sleep before, but this time his skin was cold and pale.

Dean got up and walked down the hall to where Paul lay sprawled on the floor. He checked for breath and pulse, but there wasn't any sign of life coming from Paul any more. He quickly left Paul and ran back down the hallway to Sam, panic quickly building.


	8. A Little Peace

_**Typical Disclaimer:** This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you to everyone and I hope you enjoy it._

---

Sam watched almost in a daze as Leigh burned and disappeared. Dean had done his job, but where had Leigh taken him? It was just blinding white light that surrounded him. There were no features of anything, just white as far as he could see.

"Hello Sam."

Sam froze in place. The voice was soft and familiar. So familiar that he suddenly sobbed as he let the air escape his lungs. He was almost afraid to turn, afraid that he'd been hearing things. But he turned slowly towards the voice and it was her. "Jess?"

---

Dean cursed as he pulled Sam's heavy frame down the hall of Paul's house towards the front door. Grabbing the keys from his pocket he ran out of the house to the Impala and pulled it up the driveway and then backed it into the yard so that the passenger side was facing the front door. He then ran back into the house and pulled Sam to the car and into the back seat. "Damn it Sam, I'm tired of having to drag your heavy ass everywhere." He tried one more time to wake Sam, but got no response. "You have got to stop falling for the bad girls!"

He checked his breathing and pulse again, both were still weak, but the paleness and coldness of Sam's skin scared him too much. Dean jumped into the driver's seat and headed for the hospital.

---

Jess was sitting in the flowing white dress that he had seen her in before when she was on the street watching him and Dean drive by after dropping off Charlie the day they'd destroyed Bloody Mary. She was smiling lightly at him. With her white dress and the white all around him, it was almost hard to see her, but her hair hung around her soft face and her bright eyes as she watched him calmly, waiting for him.

Sam stood up and slowly walked towards her, "Jess? Is it really you?"

She smiled and nodded her head, then reached out a hand to him.

He didn't think twice, the almost ran the few steps needed to reach her, took her hand and pulled her into a strong embrace. He could feel her warmth and her arms reaching around him to hold him just as strongly. He sobbed as he held her, "I'm so sorry Jess, so very sorry."

"It wasn't your fault Sam. There wasn't anything you could have done to save me, even if you had been there." Jess pulled back from him. He didn't want to let go, but he let her step back a little so they could look at each other. His hands were still holding onto her shoulders, his tears falling unchecked. She just smiled lightly, "you know that right? You couldn't have done anything to save me. It was not your fault."

Sam closed his eyes and lowered his head before shaking it and looking at her again, "I should have never gotten involved with you, and I should never have taken that chance with your life."

Jess just smiled back at him, "I'm glad you did. I wouldn't trade our time together."

Sam frowned and he opened his mouth to argue, but she placed her fingers over his mouth and shushed him.

"Yes, Sam, I am dead and I probably see things now differently than I would have when I was alive. But I understand why things unfolded like they did. You feel lost and responsible, but you aren't. We were drawn together, we loved each other, and we were happy. You have to hold on to that and forgive yourself for what you think you've done wrong." Jess pulled his head down to her and kissed him.

---

Dean paced back and forth in the ER waiting area while the doctors looked over Sam. He wanted to hit something, he wanted to break something, he wanted to strangle Leigh only she was already gone.

Eventually a doctor came out and spoke to Dean. They couldn't understand why Sam wouldn't wake up and they were running a bunch of tests and went over Dean's head. He just looked glassy-eyed at the doctor before he finally held up his hand and simply said, "Just don't let my brother die."

The doctor nodded, "we're going to do everything we can," and walked back into the ER examination area leaving Dean in the waiting room alone again.

---

"You have to go."

"What? No, I don't want to leave you again." Sam clung to her shoulders almost desperately, like a child about to have his security blanket ripped away.

"You can't stay here. Your body will die if you don't go back and wake up."

"But I just got here," Sam pulled her into a tight hug that she returned. He could feel the warmth of her as he held her close. It was strange at first, but then he realized as his heart leapt that he could actually feel her love washing over him and wrapping him like a warm blanket.

"I love you Sam." She pulled back from him then, with one hand, pushed him away.

"No!" He cried out, but instead of looking at Jess he was now sitting up in a bed screaming no at a blank wall.

---

Dean paced around the room that the doctors had placed Sam in. He was breathing on his own, but the doctors put an oxygen tube under his nose and had monitors for his oxygen, heart rate, and pulse connected. An IV was also in his hand giving him fluids.

When Sam sat us straight and yelled "No!" Dean thought he was going to jump out of skin. He almost stumbled in his pacing, but caught himself and ran over to the bed. "Sam! Sammy? You ok?"

Sam blinked a few times then looked over at Dean. He felt disoriented as he looked around to try to figure out where he was. He nodded numbly to Dean as he checked over himself noting all the different wires and tubes, "what happened?"

Dean stood up and took a deep breath, "dude, you scared the hell out of me again. Paul's dead, I can only hope that Leigh is gone, I burned all the stuff, and you've been out of it for 15 hours!"

"15 hours? God, it only seemed like a few minutes." He jerked his head up, "I saw Jess."

"Jess?"

"Yeah. Leigh took me somewhere before she burst into flames, so yeah you burning the stuff must have worked, then I saw Jess." The feelings were still there, but the memory was starting to fade, "she wouldn't let me stay and pushed me away. I woke up here."

Dean heard the words, heard that he'd wanted to stay and it stung, but he smiled lightly not exactly sure what to say. "Well I'm glad because you were about to drive me nuts making me wait in this damn hospital. You know how I feel about hospitals." He turned and started packing up and threw Sam his clothes. "Come on, let's get out of here."

---

Sam watched out the window quietly as the small town became distant in the rear-view mirrors. Dean glanced over at him occasionally with a slight frown on his face.

"Hey, you want to head east?" Dean smirked playfully, "head for the beach?"

Sam snorted as he glanced over at his brother, "wanting a day of fun in the sun?"

Dean shrugged, "I don't know, maybe a day or two of lying out on the beach watching the girls stroll by in the bikinis. Might be a nice change."

Sam smiled lightly, looking out the front window. After a minute he glanced over to Dean, "she told me I needed to forgive myself because it wasn't my fault."

Dean became serious for a moment as he looked over at Sam, "Did I tell you that once? You see? I told you, I'm the big brother and that makes me always right." His classic smile spread across his face and Sam couldn't help but laugh. Dean turned onto the Interstate and headed east.

end 


End file.
